Begin Again
by strikingsparks
Summary: Harper Finkle has a schedule, and she doesn't take well to its dismemberment. Title comes from the Taylor Swift song.


Harper breaks up with Zeke just before Alex announces her engagement; she gets home from her many repetitions of "it's not you, it's me" and finds a message on her answering machine that sounds like squeals more than anything else.

"Alex, what in the world were you saying?" she asks when she returns the call, trying not to sound irritated despite the fact that she's so tired her eyes are particularly closed and all she wants to do is eat a tub of ice cream and hibernate for a few weeks.

"Harper, Justin asked me to marry him!" Her voice is a full-blown roar, and Harper winces before responding.

"Okay, Alex; that's great."

Thankfully, her best friend is too excited to miss her own lack of enthusiasm before asking, "You'll be my maid of honor, right?"

"Yeah, Alex," she replies with a sigh. "I'll be your maid of honor."

* * *

By the time June rolls around a few months later, the wedding only three weeks away, Harper feels as if she's being crushed by a flood of bouquets, bridesmaid dresses, cakes and table settings. Alex isn't too concerned about what the wedding looks like, but Harper knows she wants Justin to be happy, and he's much too obsessed with detail for Harper to dare produce anything less than perfection for the ceremony and reception. It's also her best friend's big day, and she refuses for Alex to be anything less than totally happy when walking down the aisle.

Harper, however, is beginning to wonder if she'll have the stamina left to walk in as her friend's maid of honor by the time the ceremony rolls around. She practically runs on energy bars and extra-strong pots of coffee, and the circles under her eyes are beginning to look like tires adhered to her face. One particularly dreadful morning, she walks into her favorite café, intent on having several espresso shots after the fight she has just had with the caterer, and she only realizes she has moved too close to the customer in front of her when he turns and pours his freshly bought cup of joe all over her favorite blouse.

She is mentally cursing herself as the man begins to apologize, saying he hadn't seen her and asking if she's all right.

Before she has a chance to respond, dabbing at her shirt with a wad of napkins she grabs from the nearest table, the apology abruptly stops.

"Harper?" the man's voice asks. "Harper Finkle?"

"How do you-?" She looks up and answers her own incomplete question upon recognizing the face of the man who has ruined her clothes. "Max Russo?"

"The one and only! Sorry if I startled you, but I don't know anyone else who would wear a birdcage hat that's an actual birdcage," he answers, and Harper watches his face in amazement because he's both Max Russo and someone quite different looking from the boy she last saw a year or two ago. _Gosh, he must be, what, 21 or 22 now? _she asks herself. _He's actually gotten really attracti- No, Harper Finkle, he is your best friend's little brother; no, he's sort of her little brother. Whatever the case, he's MAX. That's not equivalent to attractive. _

At some point, Harper realizes that Max is simply staring at her and she asks, "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I was just wondering how you've been; Alex said you're her maid of honor or something, right? She and Justin have told me all about how awesome you've been with planning and organizing everything."

"Well, let's hope their praise isn't going to wind up being unfounded; I'm starting to worry this planning is going to kill me," Harper replies, her tone as joking as her words are serious.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll pull it off; if anybody can, it'll be you," he says, smiling at her in a way that makes Harper uneasy because it's so trusting and also maybe a little perfect.

"So, when did you get back into town?" she asks, stumbling out of the way of other customers who are beginning to give her and Max some rather venomous stares.

"Just last night, actually; hold on a second and I'll get your drink." He asks for her order and relays it to the barista, claiming the least he can do is pay for her coffee since he has destroyed her ensemble. They wonder out of the shop once Harper has her drink in hand and Max has replaced his, coming to a stop on the sidewalk just past the door.

"You drove in from Boston, right?" she asks, sipping her coffee carefully because she doesn't want to add a burnt tongue to her soaked shirt.

"Yeah, I've been doing some interning there as I've finished up my classes."

"How is Le Cordon Bleu, anyways? I guess you must eat pretty well, at least."

Max grins before replying, "Well, it's definitely not subs for dinner. Speaking of which, I'm headed back home to the shop; are you going that way? I could give you a ride."

Harper gives a shake of her head and says, "Oh, no; I've got to get back and change before I go on to have a few million meetings about wedding details. It was nice to see you, though!"

She's already starting to walk away when Max lays a hand on her arm, causing her to rotate back in his direction. "You come here for coffee most mornings, right?" he asks.

"Well, yes-."

"All right, cool; let's have breakfast tomorrow!"

And before she can even explain that she's way too busy to have breakfast or protest otherwise, Max is headed off down the sidewalk and out of earshot in the crowds.

* * *

"I ran into Max today," Harper says when she makes it back to her apartment, having finally shucked her shoes into a corner and told Alex all the details that remain in the wedding planning. The phone pressed against her ear crackles before her friend responds.

"Harper, am I crazy or has he grown a half foot again or something?" Alex asks, laughing before continuing. "It's really weird to think that we're all grown up now; it seems too soon, especially when Max is involved. I mean, did he tell you he's the top of his class right now? Really, _Max _is the top of his class. Somebody should tell Mr. Laritate; he'd have a heart attack."

"Did he tell you he coerced me into having breakfast tomorrow?" Harper asks.

"Okay, I'm not a vocabulary buff, but I'm pretty sure that coercion involves, like, force or something."

"Well, he did _force_ me, in a sense; he just said we should have breakfast and then ran off!" Harper says, her voice rising with each word.

"Jeez, Harper, could you tone it down? You're going to give me a headache or something. I don't see why you sound so worked up, anyways; Max wants to get breakfast. I mean, you lived in the same house for a few years, so I'm not sure why catching up is a problem."

"Alex, do you remember what I'm currently planning? It starts with your and ends with _wedding_."

"Oh, c'mon, Harper; one morning isn't going to take away from that. If the roses aren't the exact shade of the ribbons, I'll make sure Justin doesn't murder you," Alex says, laughing before she notices her friend's silence.

"Harper, seriously, take a break for one morning. Maybe Max isn't exactly ideal company or whatever, but he'll at least keep you from having some sort of anxiety attack. You deserve some time to breathe."

The line is quiet other than the hisses and pops of the phone until Harper says, "If he ruins another one of my shirts, I'm going to come pour extra-dark coffee all over your closet."

She hangs up before Alex can ask her what in the world she's talking about.

* * *

The next morning, Harper debates what to do; she feels obliged to go back to the coffee shop, but she has no clue when she should arrive. Max doesn't strike her as an early riser but, then again, he also didn't seem like the type, as Alex pointed out, to be acing his classes.

She settles to leave at 7 so that she doesn't make Max wait and, when she arrives at the café at 7:25, Harper walks in and finds a Russo sitting at a small corner booth. It surprises her, to say the least, and she doesn't move until Max sees her and hops out of his seat, waving his arms and grinning until she hesitantly walks his way.

"So, I know you ordered coffee yesterday, and I wasn't sure what you'd want for breakfast, but I remembered that you always liked waffles and eggs when you were rooming with Alex. I just ordered, but you can change that if it's not right."

Harper wonders if her eyes might actually be bulging out of her head as she says, "No, no, that's fine; it's actually, um, _exactly _what I order here. How did you even remember that?"

She watches Max fidget a little and she can't be sure, but she almost thinks he's blushing as he says, "Well, I just sort of noticed; it's not a big deal or anything."

The conversation quiets until their food arrives a moment later, and Max digs into his food: a plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, and enough French toast to make a loaf.

"Well, some things never change; you eat more than a horse," Harper says, and she doesn't quite understand why his laugh makes her stomach tighten but suddenly she's not quite sure she can eat.

* * *

Originally, Harper tells herself she'll leave quickly; there is too much to do for her to just sit around talking, but it's been so long since she's seen Max. She expects to find him as irritating and flighty as he was in high school, and sometimes he is. But Harper begins to notice, from that moment that he correctly recalls her breakfast order, that he's also a lot more attentive, maybe even mature. He asks about her career, and she's amazed that he actually seems interested in her descriptions of pattern-making and dress fittings. He tells her about school and his internship, and she is amazed by the fact that he has this knowledge and appreciation for food she never recognized when he was younger in any way other than his ravenous appetite. Her memories of that spark another line of conversation and, before she's even a little bit bored, Harper looks up and, seeing an influx of people entering the shop, turns back to her companion and says, "Um, Max, any clue what time it is?"

He glances at the clock wall at the same time that her gaze finds it: 11:35. She has been sitting in this booth, chatting away, for over four hours. Harper exhales through her mouth, trying to do those yoga breathes that are supposed to keep her calm.

"I better get going," she says as she hurriedly grabs her purse and bill, intent to pay and be out the door in moments. Max stands up to block her path, however, and she nearly walks into his chest before halting.

"Max, I've got things to do," she says, exasperation flooding into her voice.

"I know; just let me get your bill, and I can drive you," he replies, and Harper almost begins to argue until she sees that his arms are crossed like he won't be moving his giant frame unless she complies. When she shakes her head yes, he pulls the paper from her grasp and marches to the front as she shuffles onto the sidewalk, trying to locate his car.

Max follows after her in moments, and she finds herself frustrated with the smirk he wears as she wanders up and down the street. "It's that one," he says, pointing at a tiny, dusty looking vehicle. "C'mon, Miss Impatient; I'll take you wherever you need to go."

Harper climbs in without protest, stuffing herself into one of the small car seats. Once she has settled in, she begins to realize that she doesn't even know _where_ she ought to go; there's so much left to complete for the wedding, but half her day is already gone. At first, she thinks Max's car is making some strange noises as it starts up, but it only takes a strange look from him for her to comprehend that was her own pathetic-sounding sigh.

"Harper, you okay?" he asks, and there's so much actual concern in his voice (_Boy, haven't heard any of that in a while_, she thinks) that suddenly Harper says something very, very stupid.

"Did you know I broke up with Zeke right before Alex and Justin got engaged?" she asks, and Max only has time to give her a confused look before she continues. "I dated him for years, and in the last months I only just noticed how unalike we are, how much our experiences differ. He told me he was getting tired of my designs, and we started arguing over things as petty as what music should play in the car for days on end. He stopped laughing at my jokes, and I stopped answering all of his calls. I thought he was the love of my life a few years ago and, now, I mean, I know he's a nice guy, but I don't see anything in him that attracts me, even a little. I get that things change, I guess, but now Alex's wedding is breathing down my throat, and I'm supposed to make it perfect while also seeming incredibly happy that my best friend, who hasn't even bothered to ask me how I am after all this fun, is getting married while I don't even have a plus one."

Harper stops ranting to take a breath and, by the shocked look on Max's face, she starts to grasp that maybe she's said too much. "Um," she mutters, a splotchy blush breaking out all over her body, "can we pretend that I didn't just act like a crazy weirdo?"

"Harper, have you just been bottling this up or something? You sound… pretty angry, actually," Max says.

"Well, yeah, sort of; it's like this stupid thought that's constantly wriggling in the back of my mind, even though I mentioned it to Alex briefly. I just didn't want to bother her with all the details; I mean, after all, I broke it off, so it's not like it should actually hurt me really. And, crap, I'm currently bothering you-."

She stops mid-sentence when Max suddenly squeezes her hand and says, "Harper, chill out; you're not bothering me. What I want to know is why this is still bothering you."

For just a second, Harper confusedly thinks he's referring to his hand that is wrapped around hers, and her immediate thoughts are _Oh, it's not_, followed by a quick _I mean, yes, it is; your Alex's… whatever_. Thankfully, she saves herself from embarrassment by considering his words before replying, and the real meaning dawns on her.

"I guess it still irks me that I could spend that much time with someone and still have him turn out to be this person that I don't expect," she says, because it's the closest she can come to voicing her frustration.

Just a hint of Max's smile returns before he says, "Harper, I think the thing for you to remember is that, sometimes, people turn out to be better. Now, where are you going in such a hurry, again?"

* * *

Once Harper admits that she has no idea where to go, Max offers to accompany her to the Russo family apartment. "I can help out with some plans, after all, since I'm the best man, and nobody's there right now to interrupt since Mom and Dad are running the shop, and Justin and Alex are each at work," he says, and Harper is a little relieved that he isn't shunning her after her outburst.

"I hope you enjoy browsing linens," she jokes.

"It'll be… an experience," Max replies, sticking out his tongue as they head into the apartment.

The rest of the afternoon goes just as the morning did: it flies. Harper is amazed by the amount of work she accomplishes, even as she talks to Max, and he is surprisingly helpful. By the time the city skyline begins to darken, they've completed all but the most final details related to Alex and Justin's big day.

"I think you've actually just saved me from several days of work," she comments, logging off the computer and pivoting the chair to face Max as he rests on the couch, sitting with a stack of paper napkins on his stomach as he finishes checking the spelling engraved on each of them.

"Eh, don't worry about it. Besides, who can resist getting to see how many different shades of white are available for outdoor tents? Certainly not me."

Harper laughs and tosses the pillow she's been resting her tired wrists on at him, knocking him ever so slightly on the head.

"Be careful! You might ruin the napkins!" he says, shaking a finger like she's a small, misbehaving child.

"Oh, what a pity," she replies, stretching out her legs. "I guess I better head back home; I hate riding the subway too much later than this because it gets so creepy."

"Why don't you just stay here?" Max asks. "I mean, it's not like Mom and Dad got rid of your old bed."

There's a little piece of Harper that says, _This would allow you to see him more_, but she shoves that thought aside and says, instead, "No, I don't want to crowd you guys any further and, besides, if I stay I might be asked about more wedding details, and I think I've met my capacity for those today."

Max nods and follows her as she makes her way out the door, the light in the hallway so dim it's almost impossible for her to make out his face in the doorway, framed all around by the lights from the living room.

"Well, Max," she says, feeling even more awkward than she did this morning, "Thanks for your help. I guess I'll see you again in the next few days!" Before she can sprint off, however, she feels his hand grasp at her arm again, leaving her stranded in the hall.

"Harper, I think you ought to know that Zeke definitely missed out by showing so little interest in what you like and do. You… you definitely deserve to be with somebody who cares because you're actually, you know, pretty amazing. Don't ever settle for anyone who doesn't realize that, okay?" He says it all so quickly that Harper barely catches everything, and she doesn't have any clue why this has come up again other than that, maybe…

"Max, you know how you said that people can change for the better?" He nods, his body swaying ever so slightly back and forth as she continues.

"I think you're one of those." She says it as an experiment, hoping to gage his reaction before she remembers that she can't see a bit of his facial features.

"Thanks," he replies, and his answer is so simple that Harper curses herself because she's sure that she's completely misread this situation until Max suddenly continues by saying, "Please don't hate me," and all of the sudden he is kissing _her_, Harper Finkle, the girl with weird clothes and a tendency to have emotional outbursts at inconvenient times, and it's so insane that she finds herself laughing right in the middle of it.

Max pulls back and, even though she can't see it, she knows he's completely unsure of how to react because he says, "Sorry, was that not-?"

She kisses him back before he has time to finish, and when she pulls away she says, "Be my plus one?"

He laughs harder than he has all day, his head going back like it did when he was younger, and Harper can't help but love the combination of old and new Max she views outlined in the lights of the apartment.

"You know this adds one more crazy couple to the Russo wedding mix, right?" he replies.

She doesn't bother to respond before she kisses him again.


End file.
